March 7, 2007

SOFTBALL: Lutes Sweep Four NWC Games; Whitworth Next

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran at Whitworth (DH), Saturday, noon; PLU at Whitworth (DH), Sunday, noon.

LUTES FACE BIG TEST AGAINST PIRATES: Pacific Lutheran swept a pair of Northwest Conference doubleheaders against visiting George Fox and Lewis & Clark last weekend, but the youthful Lutes will get a better idea of where they stand this weekend. That’s because the youthful Lutes will head east over the mountains to play a four-game Northwest Conference series with the Whitworth Pirates. Conference coaches picked Whitworth to finish second to defending NWC champion Linfield in the preseason poll. The Lutes, by the way, were picked to finish fouirth. The Pirates, who played in the NCAA Division III regionals last year, apparently have found a way to replace 2006 NWC Pitcher of the Year Jo Sonnett because they have started out 7-0 this season. PLU, Whitworth and Puget Sound are currently tied atop the NWC standings, all with 4-0 records. The Pirates swept their weekend four-game series with the Pacific Boxers.

MORE ABOUT WHITWORTH: The Pirates have scored 47 runs in their seven games, and average of almost seven runs per contest. Heather Case, a first team all-conference infielder last year, leads five Pirates regulars who are hitting above .300 this year. Case is hitting .478 and has four doubles. As a team, the Pirates are hitting .303 while limiting their opponents (Albertson and Pacific) to .265 clip. Case is the team’s No. 2 pitcher and has a 2-0 record and 1.08 earned run average. She has given up only one walk in 13 innings of work. Jessie LaPlante has thrown the most innings with 29 2/3. She has a 4-0 record and 2.60 earned run average. LaPlante is hitting .400 in the four games in which she has appeared.

LUTES SWEEP LEWIS & CLARK...: Beth Kenck hit an opposite-field double to drive in the winning run in the second game as the Lutes earned a 3-2 victory and a conference doubleheader sweep of the Lewis & Clark Pioneers on Sunday afternoon. The Lutes won the opener, 10-2, with the game ending via the eight-run rule in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game No. 2, freshman designated player Shelby Johnston lined a two-out double to right-center field, and she scored when Kenck’s fly ball sailed over the head of the Pioneers’ right fielder, who was playing shallow. Cassie Canales earned her third win of the year against no defeats. She allowed two earned runs – the first two she has allowed in 21 innings this season – on six hits while striking out six and walking two. Johnston had a pair of doubles to lead the Lute offense. In the opener, Hadley Schmitt matched Canales with her third straight complete game victory for PLU. She gave up two runs, one of which was earned, on three hits. She struck out six and, for the first time in 21 innings, walked a batter. The Lutes benefited from six Lewis & Clark errors as only five of their 10 runs were earned. Vanessa Bryant and Kenck both had three hits for PLU, and Schmitt had her three straight two-hit game. Schutt added a pair of run-scoring singles to the winning cause.

…AFTER SWEEPING GEORGE FOX: PLU opened its 2007 Northwest Conference softball schedule with a doubleheader sweep of visiting George Fox on Saturday. The Lutes took a pair of 7-0 wins from the Bruins. Just six days after sweeping a pair of 5-2 decisions from Saint Martin’s, PLU rode the arms of Hadley Schmitt and Cassie Canales to the twinbill sweep. Schmitt gave up just three hits while striking out four and walking none in the opener. Alana Schutt hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Beth Kenck did the same in the fifth to get the Lutes going. PLU added three more runs in the sixth inning on RBI doubles by Schutt and Shelby Johnston and a run-scoring single by Schmitt. Canales was rock-solid for the Lutes in the second game, giving up just four hits while striking out four and walking one. The David Douglas High School product retired the order in the first three innings and allowed only two Bruins to get as far as second base. Missy Waldron, a slap hitter, led the Lutes’ 14-hit attack with three infield singles. Walling, Carly Starke, Canales and Karen Henjum all collected a pair of hits to aid the cause.

DOUBLEHEADER RAINED OUT: Pacific Lutheran’s non-conference doubleheader with the Concordia Cavaliers scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, was rained out. The games will likely not be rescheduled.

THE COACH: Rick Noren has compiled an outstanding 372-108-1 record in what is now his 13th season as the Pacific Lutheran University fastpitch head coach. Noren has led eight of his PLU teams to national tournament competition. The Lutes made the 2002 NCAA III College World Series and finished in fourth place.

- PLU -